Droplets
by Aenea Lamia
Summary: ON HIATUS/ SportaSteph. A series of vignettes showing the evolving relationship between Sportacus and Stephanie. Some are set at the time of the show, some later. I truly want the rating to go up for this one. I love feedback with a passion.
1. Prologue

**AN:** Ok, so I got tired of one shots and decided it was time to evolve. How? By taking a number of the above mentioned one shots and gluing them together into a series. And here it is, a series of self conclusive one shots tadaaaaa. Hope you like it. As usual, corrections and suggestion about my awful grammar are very much welcome and make me very happy -. The rating is G for now but I TOTALLY intend for it to go up...  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own them; else they would be having a shameless on-screen romance... don't sue.

* * *

_Prologue_

"_One drop of water is only one drop of water but the sea would be less if not for that one drop_."

She kept those words in her heart like a treasure, even though she knew he was quoting mother Teresa back then, that he hadn't made them out. It was his soul speaking to hers in the words of another, so she took it for what it was and rejoice in it.

That day she had been down and alone. Pixel had a new video game and everyone was in his house playing it despite her best efforts to drag them outside to play. Sportacus had came to her side in his usual good spirits and been concerned by her sadness and frustration. He had smiled faintly and patted her in the head, which had only annoyed her further.

"But Stephanie, why are you so mad?" he had asked.

"Because is useless! No matter what I do... It seems the every day I must start again. They won't play with me outside, they won't even move! It seems so useless at times... I accomplish too little... I'll never make it..." she had blurted out with an emotion so strong it had made her whole small frame shake.

He had looked at her intently in the eyes then, in a way that she later would come to know as his I-really-want-for-you-to-remember-this-forever look, had put his strong hands over her shoulders y and when he had spoken to her, the soft accent in his voice had been thicker then usual.

"Everything you do matters, Stephanie, even if it doesn't seem so at times. It was your heart that summoned me here. It is your heart that would make this town better, one step at the time. One drop of water is only one drop of water but the sea would be less if not for that one drop."

She had tried very hard not to cry, but the emotion had simply overwhelmed. She remembered all too well his big hands drying her tears away.

She often went back to that point in her memories, the first drop of water in an endless sea of memories. Memories of her and him and the sun shining above both of them and the town she had come to love.


	2. Trust

_**Note**: Short, I know... but there will be more, and they will hopefully be better. My job has been hell v2.0 these days, and just today I had enough time to sit down and write. Next drop is on the way anyway. Thank you for reading, reviewing is greatly appreciated and so is constructive criticism. Special thanks to Anita, who always reviews and makes me feel quite good about writing. Suggested reading music:" Las cosas que vives" by Laura Pausini.  
**Disclaimer**: See prologue._

* * *

_One: Trust_

She knew she trusted him with her life the day he held her for the first time.

At that point in their relationship she was just glad she had finally found someone who finally understood her almost compulsive need to dance and sing when she was happy; and not only understood it, but shared it. Their dancing numbers were slowly becoming famous around the town. Nobody quite knew how they managed to appear perfectly coordinated without neither rehearse nor talk about their choreographies, ever, but neither of them really cared about it. They were just too happy not to dance; everything else took care of itself.

That day Robbie had tried to get rid of Sportacus once again. This time the plan had involved making him lose control of his feet, thus making impossible for him to perform the stunt he had planned for Stephanie for the Sportacular Spectacle Day, but they had defeated him once again, everything had turned out alright, and the stunt Sportacus did for her, and everyone, was just perfect.

So, she had began dancing, because she was happy that she had helped him get through, because there was always a way. Because she felt that she had poured a little drop of water and made the their ocean just a little bit bigger, just as he had told her so much time before.

But now the song was quickly reaching its end, and she braced herself for the ending; he used to leave when the song ended, and that never failed to make her just a little sad. She used to wave goodbye and smile for him, secretly fighting the fear that he wouldn't come back, even if he always did; and as the song approached its final chords, the fear claimed her heart again. For the first time, she felt she had to shelter herself from it somehow. She looked right into Sportacus' eyes, and her friend looked back into hers, reading everything in them.

He didn't go away. Instead, he opened his arms and smiled, openly and invitingly, to her. His eyes were a question and her way to answer was dancing towards him, smiling, till she was in his arms and every one of her fears of him leaving her vanished forever. He held her close to him, and lowered her down in a new dance step that made her giggle and smile shiningly.

"I will never leave you," he said to her while helping her to a standing position again. "I will always be here for you, no matter what for, no matter what happens."

"Thank you," was all she could say, but her eyes spoke volumes to his, and, between them, that was more than enough.

"No, Stephanie. Thank you. You are a great person and I'm very proud that you think of me as your friend."

She just nodded and gave him a quick hug. She had never been a touchy kind of girl, but she didn't trust her voice not to break from emotion and she needed to let him know she really appreciated his words. She needed him to know she trusted him with her life, that she trusted him not to leave her, not to fail her, to never hurt her, to always protect her; and that she trusted him to let her help him from time to time, when she could do it. She hoped he could understand it, and when she looked into his eyes again, she knew he had.

He smiled to her, made his signature movement, and flipped his way to the ladder of his airship while she waved him goodbye, smiling with her heart and soul this time, free from fears and sadness.

He was his friend, he would never leave her. She feared nothing.


	3. Promise

_**Note**: This one is set immediately after "Sportafake". Thanks to the ones who have reviewed, thanks also to the ones who have read and not reviewed. It is very likely that the next drop takes a while to come. Just so you don't think I've dropped this. As per usual, any correction or constructive criticism is craved and appreciated, and so are reviews. Suggested reading music: "Mermaid Song" by Sarah Khider.  
**Disclaimers**: See prologue._

* * *

_**Two**: Promise_

Stephanie waved goodbye to her friends while giving them a sleepy smile. The sun was already sinking on the horizon and all of Lazy Town looked golden and beautiful. She sighed in awe; although sunrises were her all time favorites, sunsets ran a close second, especially this town's sunsets. She only wished she could see the sun setting on the sea someday, she'd only seen pictures of its breathtaking beauty and she'd always wanted to see it with her own eyes.

She yawned as she walked. The whole Robbie Rotten impersonating Sportacus fiasco had left her very tired. This kind of thing seemed to just drain her energy away; it made her remember the first days she had spent there, when everything had seemed uphill. Had it not been for Sportacus, she would have eventually given up, given in and let them get their way despite everything she believed in. But with him helping her, the road had been easier. He was her friend an ally, and if she had some saying in it, it would always be like that.

As if her thoughts had summoned him, he appeared in front of her. He was waiting for her near her uncle's house. It was odd for her to see him standing still, and at first she thought something was wrong, but then she saw the smile on his lips. She smiled too and ran to him, suddenly feeling the tiredness evaporate like the garden mist when the sun began shining.

"Hi!" she greeted. "I thought you were already in your airship."

"Well, I was. But I came back."

"Is someone in danger?" She asked, concerned, and turned to look everywhere for traces of trouble.

"No, it's not that," he shook his head and smiled so he knew he meant it. "I don't feel I thank you enough today. You were really brave to speak up, and I'm very grateful you stood up for me."

"I told you, I followed my heart… and my heart just didn't want for anything unfair to happen… it didn't want for you to leave," she said, and hugged him. It never ceased to amaze her how comfortable she felt hugging him, because she wasn't too prone to touch people that weren't her family, never had been. But somehow, ever since that moment weeks ago, she felt he was just... safe.

He returned her hug and smiled, then slowly let her go.

"Well, I better go now. It's almost eight, time to go to bed."

"Oh…" Stephanie sighed, feeling kind of sad all of the sudden.

"Goodbye, Steph-" he began saying while waving goodbye and readying to perform a back flip, but she cut him off.

"Sportacus!" She called out in a rush, fighting the urge to close her eyes and clench her teeth before going on. "Could you… stay? Just a little while…"

"Is there something wrong?" Now it was his turn to be concerned, he looked at his crystal, but it remained silent. Confused, he put his hand over his eyes and searched to his right and left, hearing intently for anyone crying for help; but nothing happened.

"No… there's nothing wrong. It's just... Today I realized that I know you without knowing anything about you. And that's ok, I like trusting you this way. But, I'd really want to know more about you, just to know you better."

"Ok," he agreed and crouched in front of her, smiling like a child presented with a new game. "What do you want to know?"

"I don't know," she looked at him opening up her eyes like she used to do when something caught her off guard. She hadn't really though of anything in particular she wanted to ask him. "Anything… like… hmmm… Well, uncle Milford said you came from an island in the North Sea; that sounds really far. Do you miss your home?"

"A little," he sat down on the floor, resting his forearms on his knees, thinking. When he talked his face wore a dreamy look that she had never seen in him before; it was a mix of longing, warmth, memories, and a little fleeting bit of sadness. "I miss the sea," he finally said, his accent dyeing every word the color of his eyes. "You can't really swim too long, because she's really cold, but every time I did it I felt like she embraced me. Touching the sea, hearing the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks… I think that is what I miss more."

"I've never really seen the sea for myself, only pictures," Stephanie slowly let herself slip down to seat on the floor, facing him. "But I think it has the color of your eyes," she said before she could stop herself and her face turned really red. But Sportacus just chuckled well naturedly, shaking his head a little before looking at her in the eyes again.

"I guess the part of the ocean that's in my soul shows up a little in my eyes," he said, feeling that Stephanie's comment made perfect sense and reflecting it in his voice, thus easing any trace of embarrassment she could have felt. "I'll take you to the sea someday, Stephanie, so you can see her color, feel her deepness, hear her beauty. I'm sure you'll love her as much as I do."

"I'm sure of it too," she nodded her agreement and her eyes smiled bright.

They spent some minutes in a comfortable silence, until the day caught up with her and made her yawn. Sportacus stood up and offered his hand to help her up, realizing that night had already fell and they both felt very tired.

They made their way to the Mayor's house in silence, just enjoying the walk and the soft cool breeze that began blowing. They arrived in just a couple of minutes.

"Good night, Stephanie."

"Good night, Sportacus."

He watched her hop her way to the front door and enter the house before smiling lopsided and make his way to his airship.

// -- //

"Stephanie! You're alive!" exclaimed the Mayor, relief plain on his face as he dropped the phone down and ran towards her.

"Milford? Is that her? Did she arrive? Milford?!" said Miss Busybody's muffled voice on the phone.

"Oh, Stephanie! I was so worried!"

"I'm so sorry Uncle Milford, I didn't realize it was so late," said Stephanie regretfully. "I'm very sorry I worried you, It won't happen again."

"Oh my! Did anything happen to you? Did you have an accident? Got injured? Were bitten by evil gerbils?" He asked all worked up while checking up she was whole and alright. She giggled.

"No, Uncle Milford. I'm really alright. I was just outside, chatting with Sportacus."

"Sportacus?" Mayor Meanswell's face was an ode to confusion. "Wasn't he in his airship?"

"Well, he was. Then he came back," said Stephanie matter-of-factly and yawned again. "I'm going to bed now, uncle. Good night," she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and hurried to her bedroom, leaving him still shocked, not moving and barely blinking.

"Sportacus, uh?" Said the Mayor to himself. A sneaky feeling tried to make its way to the back of his mind for a second, but was then chased away by the piercing voice coming from the phone.

"MILFORD?! ARE YOU THERE?!"

"Oh! I'm coming miss Busybody!"

// -- //

Up in her bedroom, Stephanie laid on her bed, sleeping soundly and dreaming of the sunset on a faraway sea.

// -- //

* * *

_Final notes:  
Pink Angel Baby: Nopes, I'm not going to analyze every one of them… just the ones I need to get my point across :wink:  
Anita: Yup, I noticed that, and screamed so loud my sis though I was crazy… well, maybe I am._


	4. Stars

_**Note:**__ I have not been able to watch the new episodes, so I am leaping forward in time with this one. As you may have noticed, my spare time keeps waning, sorry for all the delays. Thanks for your reviews, I crave them and devour them. I blame Stephanie's adolescent whining on the lack of sleep. I also blame the lack of plot and unconnectedness thereof on that. Deal with me, please? As usual, if you spot a grammar murder, let me know and I will try to fix it.  
**Disclaimers:**__See prologue.  
_

* * *

_Three__: Stars_

It was as notorious as it had been inevitable: she had grown up, undoubtedly. Whether she wanted it or not, tomorrow was going to be her birthday. Stephanie looked at the 14 candles on the cake and sighed, not knowing exactly how she should feel. Not knowing exactly how she did feel.

She figured she should be happy, after all there was a party planned for her next evening, with all her friends attending, and a cake her uncle had made for her.

The cake was a work of art and love that had taken her uncle Milford almost a whole day to make. Even now he was sleeping in front of the main door, guarding his work from Ziggy, who in spite of the fact he had also grown up, had been trying to assault the said cake all day. '_Old habits die hard',_ Stephanie though, looking at the pink mountain of cream and strawberries that seemed to sparkle before her, even in the middle of the night.

A sudden snore startled her and she looked at her uncle, remembering why she was there at this time of night to begin with. She grabbed the blanket she had brought from her uncle's room and, carefully, approached and covered him with it. He just shifted a little and continued sleeping, babbling something about adding ice to Miss Busybody's juice. Stephanie chuckled softly and quietly made her way back to her bedroom.

The full moon shone brightly on the night sky, shadowed only by the far silhouette of an airship. Sportacus. The name never failed to brought a smile to her lips, but tonight, although it was no exception, it also made her chest hurt, a sensation not so much unlike a paper cut: superficial but painful. And she realized that it wasn't the 14 candles and the beautiful cake, the balloons and the prospect of the party that made her sad.

"I don't want to lose you..." she whispered, looking at the distant airship.

// -- //

The weird evolution of the relationship between boys and girls in this town amused Stephanie to no end. Back on the days when she had just arrived, they all used to dance together, burst into choreographies and simply mingle with each other. But as years went by, they had slowly become more and more self-conscious in the presence of the opposite sex. As a result her party was presently divided into two areas: girls on the right and boys on the left. The silliness of the scene made Stephanie giggle uncontrollably every time she assessed the situation. Granted, she was older than them all, but it was still funny.

She grabbed a glass of juice and looked at the door for the millionth time in the evening, but still didn't find what she wanted to see there. She looked at the clock and sighed. '_He's not going to come,' _she thought, and the pain that stabbed her heart was almost a surprise for her, though she had been swinging moods like this all day. Adolescence was hitting her hard, and she wasn't enjoying it.

It was then she decided that she had finally had enough of everyone staring at each other and that she would ask Pixel to dance. He was the one who had created the DJ6000 machine, after all, he should have the privilege to dance to the 'super automatic and autonomously random selection and mixing of songs, rhythms and fun' as he had so joyfully described the birthday present he had come up with for her. It was also a great opportunity to quit moping and enjoy her party; everyone had made such an effort to organize it, it would be ungrateful of her if she didn't.

"Pixel..." Stephanie began, reaching theatrically her hand toward him in invitation "Would you dance with me?"

He began babbling an apology, but Stephanie promptly grabbed him and dragged him to the small improvised dance floor. Her example was quickly followed by Trixie who eagerly dragged Stingy to dance as well. The DJ6000 began playing a remix of the Bing Bang song, which was happily acclaimed by all the dancers, who jumped and danced as if they were little kids again.

She had been dancing for a while, swapping between Ziggy and Pixel, when she heard the doorbell ring. Mayor Meanswell hurried up to answer it and every eye on the room turned toward it to see if it the missing guest had finally arrived.

It actually was Sportacus. Smiling as charmingly as usual, he flipped across the room, careful of not letting go of the colorfully wrapped box he held on his hand. He finally landed in front of Stephanie, who looked at him with a face that was half pure bliss and half relief before jumping to hug him.

"You came!!!" She shouted with glee, trying to compose herself only as an afterthought and not really caring about failing. She buried her head in his shoulder and hugged him tight, not wanting to let him go.

He caressed her silky pink hair, smiling. "Happy birthday, Stephanie," he whispered to her, slowly and tenderly moving out of her embrace. Then, he presented her with the gift box he was still balancing on his hand. Stephanie backed down a little and took her gift.

"Open it up, Pinky!" Shouted Trixie and everyone laughed.

Stephanie carefully undid the wrapping to reveal a blue plain shoe box, which she quickly proceeded to open under the somewhat eager look of Sportacus. She removed the lid, looked into the box and froze. Inside was the most gorgeous pair of dance sneakers she had ever seen in her whole life. They were of a soft silvery pink color with a matt finishing; the shoelaces were pink and shiny, giving out tiny sparkles as the light played with them, and near the heel, embroidered in exquisite pink letters, was her name.

"They are beautiful..." A stubborn knot on her throat refused to let her talk above a whisper. She blinked away the tears that came to her eyes and tried hard to keep breathing, it was hard. Her heart was beating like she had just ran the marathon and she felt she would faint at any time. "I need some air... I'm sorry..." she managed to say, making her way hastily to the front door.

The Mayor tried to follow her, but Sportacus stopped him.

"I will talk to her," he said and followed Stephanie to the front yard.

// -- //

He found Stephanie crouching on the same spot near her uncle's house where they had had that conversation, long ago. That time she had asked him about his home, and they had talked and talked, not noticing that night had already grabbed hold of the town.

He looked at her now; in the night her pale face was made even paler by the light of the full moon, the trail of her tears was a silver trace down her eyes almost covered by her hair. The strength of her sobs shook her up from time to time as she fiercely hugged the gift he had given her. She was so fragile and yet so strong.

"Stephanie..." He softly called her, approaching slowly.

She lifted her face and wiped her face with one of her sleeves when she realized it was him. There was a shadow of sadness in his eyes that made them just a little bluer, made him look just a little bit vulnerable. In that moment she only wanted to hug him, to be hugged, to cry till she had no more tears, to forget about everything and not having to deal with all the things she was feeling. Instead, she put her gift box down and looked intently at it, not knowing why her brain and body refused to react.

"I'm so sorry for being late, Stephanie. I really am. It's just that I had to go to the city to get your present and..."

"It's not that..." she managed to say, interrupting him. She slowly dragged her eyes up to meet his. "I... was afraid... I am afraid...I feel... I thought you weren't going to come and then you... And I thought you didn't care, but... I don't know why..." She struggled for words that refused to make sense, ­opening and closing her hands, reaching out in frustration. She hated it. "Sportacus, I don't want to lose you..." she finally blurted out, clenching her hands into fists and closing her eyes.

"Stephanie," he started, taking her hands into his, easing them. She sighed, his mere contact making her feel better already. She opened her eyes. "I am not going to leave you," he said. "Not now, not ever."

"Lately... I feel like I'm drifting apart. I don't want to drift apart, but I'm growing up... and now everything is confusing and difficult and awkward... And I don't want to change... I don't want for anything to change... I want you to keep saving me, I want to keep dancing and playing with you!" She could barely finish the last sentence before bursting into tears.

Sportacus hugged her and held her while she wept, her body shaking with sobs. And she cried for a long while, letting go of all the worries and sorrow that had preceded her birthday, letting fear dissolve in her heart and pour through her eyes. When she regained control of herself, Sportacus' suit was soaking wet on the chest. She stepped back a little and looked at him.

"I'm sorry," she said, but he smiled warmly at her.

Turning her around, he crouched down to her level. "Look," he said while he put his left hand over her left shoulder and pointed his left hand to the sky, resting his elbow slightly over her shoulder. "That star's name is Arcturus, can you see it?" Stephanie nodded affirmatively and he continued. "If you look carefully, you will see it's a red star. Red stars are the oldest in all the sky... they are also the most beautiful." He turned her around again to face him, and this time he rested both his hands over her shoulders, his eyes on hers were like a warm sea, caressing her soul. "You **are **growing up, and that's a good thing. You're changing, but I have no doubt that it will be for the good. You are my star, Stephanie, and soon you will be the most beautiful red star in all sky. You shouldn't be afraid. ­­I will never, ever, leave you."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

He rose up and softly taped her on the nose, which was red from crying. Her puffy eyes smiled at him, her cheeks turning suddenly red for no reason she wanted to think about.

"Let's go home," she said, grabbing her present from the floor and heading toward her uncle's house.

She wanted to say 'thank you', she wanted to –ironically-, apologize for being such a child; she wanted to say so many things in that moment. Instead, and to her surprise, she heard herself asking a question.

"Sportacus," she began, feeling her voice almost drown into the beats of her racing heart. He stopped and looked back at her. "¿How do you say 'star' in your language?"

"Starjna," he answered, and the word sounded like music to her. "We call them starjna."

Her cheeks lighted up again and she hurried up into the house, leaving him behind and missing the mischievous-little-boy smile he cast in her direction before shaking his head. He followed her into the party between flips and somersaults.

// -- //

Late in the night, when everybody had gone to their houses and the party was over, she looked at the sky through her window. Arcturus shone brightly high above, unchallenged by the light of the moon, like it was protecting her. She smiled at the warm feeling that crawled into her being at the though, not minding the red of her cheeks this time, not minding the beat her heart skipped and the sweet mild ache on her soul.

She was too tired to think about it now; she was too happy and too sleepy. She drifted effortlessly into sleep.


	5. Decision

_**Note:**__ To those of you who still stick with me, THANK YOU. I profusely apologize for all the delay, but I'm being slightly workaholic these days. Thank you for reading this. This was the result of sudden inspiration, so I'm sure it has many mistakes. Please let me know so I can correct them._

_**Disclaimers: **__See prologue._

* * *

_Four__: Decision_

She began suspecting something had changed in her after her 14th birthday, some days after the party, when she realized she was practicing dance more than usual just to wear the pink dance sneakers Sportacus had given her as present. But she just pushed it off her mind, she really did not want to think about confusing feelings she couldn't name. And, eventually, it vanished and went away.

The suspicion, however, came back months later, when after a week of not seeing him she actually found herself wishing Robbie Rotten would try to pull some stunt on anyone, just to see Sportacus. She ignored it again. It was just normal for her to want to see her friend, right? Then, Robbie Rotten did pull a stunt on the Mayor, again, and Sportacus did save the day, again. She chose to attribute the pure bright joy she felt as she danced with him to the fact that she had missed his friend so much.

But when at her 15th birthday party she simply could not gather the courage to ask Sportacus to dance, the sneaky feeling emerged once more. And she admitted defeat when Sportacus did in fact asked **her** to dance and the DJ, whom that year was Trixie, suddenly decided to put on a slow song. She thanked God in that moment that, despite every one of her objections, Trixie had finally gotten her way and turned out the lights when the dancing had begun; the moment Sportacus smiled at her, opening his arms to embrace her, her heart skipped a beat and she launched into his embrace hurriedly to keep him from seeing the redness of her cheeks or the utter bliss in her eyes for the opportunity to be so near him.

That night, she first began accepting she might have a crush on him.

Certainty came to her in the form of almost epiphany days later, when she was passing by "their" spot on her way home. Slowly, gradually and almost by chance it had become their special place, the spot were they shared words, joy and tears. They would meet there almost randomly, drawn together whenever they needed to have each other exclusively, to talk, to reassure, to feel better. It had been like that since the first conversation so many years ago. And it was their secret.

It hit her right then: for a long while now she had been collecting bits of him. Like a scrapbook in her heart, she had been pinning out in her memory fragments, words, looks and moments. All the minutes they had shared; every dance, every step, everything. And she had kept them to herself, treasuring them so much she didn't even shared them with her diary, not even with Trixie. Each memory was a jewel, because it was only hers, and they were her secrets, her things to know about him. Like he spoke of the sea like it was a woman or that his eyes turned bluer when he was a little sad. She knew whenever feelings overwhelmed him, his accent became thicker. Secrets. Like she called her stjarna when it was just the two of them. Like she wanted to be the brightest star on the sky for him.

She crouched down there, like she had done so many times before, letting the truth flow through her in waves, lifting up the burden of denial off her soul but weighting her down with a new burden. Her body lingered with a relief that was also pain and fear. She had fallen for her friend, and to her own eyes she was just a child.

After minutes that seemed hours, she struggled up to her feet and slowly made her way home and into her bedroom. For the first time since she had arrived to Lazytown to live in her uncle's house, she locked the door.

/ -- /

"Oh, Milford... do you really think this is necessary?" asked Miss Busybody, standing beside the mail tube as the Mayor shoved a letter through it and readied himself to pull the lever that would shoot it towards the sky.

"It's been three days, Miss Busybody. She doesn't leave her bedroom, she forgets to eat… she does not dance!"

"But, Stephanie is going through adolescence. These things are bound to happen", reasoned her. "Maybe she needs to have a girl talk!" Miss Busybody seemed very excited with her idea, but the Mayor froze. Somehow he doubted that talking to his beloved friend would do Stephanie any good.

"Thank you, Miss Busybody… but…. I wouldn't… you shouldn't bother… and… oh…" At some point amidst his rambling, he had pulled the lever and now the mail tube was flying into the sky.

Betsy stood wide eyed in front of the Mayor, pure betrayal plainly written on her face. The air seemed to stand still between them as not one muscle moved on her face. Milford blinked. Just when he thought Betsy's stare would reduce him to ashes, her cell phone rang. Milford let go the breath he didn't know he was holding as she turned her back to him and walked away, happily talking with whoever had called her.

"Oh, my... That was close…" He sighed and closed his eyes, almost jumping when he heard Sportacus beside him.

"Good day, Mayor", he greeted him with his usual high spirits.

"Sportacus!" He greeted him almost as if he had forgotten he had summoned him himself.

"What's the problem, Mayor Meanswell?"

"I need your help, Sportacus. It's Stephanie."

/ -- /

She registered the knock on the door as a faraway, muted sound. She stood up, slowly, the slight dizziness making her remember that she had forgotten to have dinner last night. She looked at her wall clock, it was already noon. She had also forgotten to change into her nightgown last night, so she just walked toward the door and opened it, mumbling an apology to her uncle for being asleep so late… then she really saw who was at the door and froze.

"Stjarna…" Sportacus began, the word dyed with such worry she thought it would break her heart.

"Hi", she managed to say, as she tried to weave and step closer to him, but the emotion and the lack of food made her loose her balance. He was beside her in a heartbeat, holding her, guiding her to the bed. He lowered her slowly, keeping her in a sitting position with his arm around her, her head resting on his shoulder.

"Right... And so, I have made a fool of myself… Again", Stephanie said in defeat. She looked up at him. "Why? Why do you always have to be there when I'm in my weakest?"

"So I can hold you?" His hand caressed her hair and she closed her eyes, fighting tears.

His arm felt so nice wrapped around her shoulders, she felt so safe. But she also knew that, when he went away, her soul would be left cold, empty, and that all the rightness she felt right now would turn into confusion. She pressed her forehead to him to hide the fight against tears in her eyes.

"Yeah. You always do catch me, don't you?"

"Stephanie… What's wrong? Your uncle is very worried… and so am I", he said, and she believed it. His accent was so thick his words **felt** blue. She smiled against him.

"I'm sorry… I got… lost…I really didn't mean to worry you, any of you", she said backing away a little to look into his eyes. "Maybe I'm just trying to get some attention. I'm an adolescent after all."

"You are not like that. I know it", he said, cupping her cheek in one of his hands. She sighed and smiled genuinely. Being near him, with his beloved hands caressing her, it was heaven; a bittersweet, almost painful, heaven. "I'm your friend", he continued, and if he noticed that her eyes darkened with sorrow at the word, he didn't show it. "You can tell me anything, you know it."

"I know you are my friend", she took his hands in hers and straightened up, putting some space between them. "Look, I was… a little…" _Infatuated? Obsessed? Lovesick?_ "…a little down. And I just... lost track of it all. It won't happen again. I promise", he hugged him, lingering longer than she knew she should. When she finally backed away, he still looked mildly unconvinced. "Sportacus, I'm fine. Really… and I feel stupid enough right now, so I certainly won't be… doing this "down" thing again… I will never let it go this far again. Ok?" She beamed, extending her hand to close the deal.

"All right", he accepted and shook her hand. "Now go and have something to eat, will you?" Only when he stood up did she notice that they were still holding hands.

"Will you stay?" She asked.

"Okay", he agreed, letting go slowly of her hand and patting her on the head. "Let's go."

"Hmmm…. Sportacus?"

"Yes? Are you all right?" He asked with so much concern it touched her, so she smiled reassuringly at him.

"Yes, I'm fine. It's just… I kind of… I need to… "refresh" myself… a little…" For some reason she felt awkward and her cheeks turned red. She dug her eyes on the floor, but kept smiling almost in spite of herself.

It took a second for him to understand, and then he chuckled good-naturedly.

"I'll go ahead and fix us some lunch", he said and winked at her, then made his way to the kitchen. She watched him swirl about and disappear before walking to the bathroom.

She didn't recognize herself in the image staring at her from the mirror. She frowned and threw a towel at her reflection then turned on the shower and went in hurriedly.

She had decided it: she would not cry again. She was going to be strong for him. Maybe she wouldn't earn his love, maybe "friend" was everything she was going to be for him, but if that was the case, she was going to make sure he remembered her smiling, laughing and being strong. She wanted to be his best memory and crying and moping wouldn't help.

She began singing as she washed her hair, letting the water wash away her tears.

/ -- /

It was very late in the night, but Sportacus simply couldn't sleep.

He knew he should have noticed something was wrong with Stephanie before her uncle had summoned him, before she had had to spend three days alone, coping with whatever it was that bothered her. That was not the way a hero acted, not even a slightly above average one. No hero would let down like that someone he cared about that much.

Guilt washed over him, because he knew exactly why he hadn't noticed earlier, why he hadn't seen her in three days, why nowadays he spent as much time as he could on his airship, away from her. His heart shrank with pain in his chest; he was such a fool. He was in love with her, and he knew it.

And now, before he had had the chance to do anything about his feelings, she had fallen for someone else. He wasn't blind, he could read the signs, he knew. Her heart was taken. He was too late.

He stood lying there, staring at the white ceiling, waiting for the sleep that refused to come.


	6. Drought

_**Note:**__ If there is anyone still reading this: THANK YOU. And SORRY. My muse had run away and did not want to return. I finally had the will to lure it back with chocolates and booze (I know, BAD mix) recently, because RL has been a bitca for the last year or so. I'm profoundly sorry.... and I intend to finish this story, even though it takes me 2 or 3 more years. Sorry again._

_**Disclaimers: **__See prologue._

_Five__: Drought_

On her 16th birthday, they danced again.

They had been doing it less and less lately, they just never seemed to have enough time now.

That summer Stephanie had begun giving dance lessons to the kids of the town. Sportacus and her other friends had helped her mounting up a canopy on her yard and prop a mirror against the wall of the house. It had begun as a hobby, and payment was voluntary. Payment on sports candy was accepted and most encouraged, as it was shared between all the "students" after class. Soon, it had become something Stephanie couldn't live without. So, even when school had started, she had kept her little "academy" going.

Sportacus, on the other hand, had his hands full playing with the younger kids on town and guiding them, teaching them the way he had done so with Stephanie and the others.

This was good, Stephanie supposed. She was doing something she loved and she was also living up to her promise. She even got to see Sportacus every other day and she was always able to smile at him. But the feeling inside her hadn't waned. Not even a little.

She still wanted to shine brightly, like a star, for him.

For Stephanie, birthdays had always been important days. It wasn't just about the party and the gifts; she could do without them just fine. It was the love she felt, especially on those days, washing over her like a waterfall. She felt loved every day, and felt enormously fortunate for it, but on her birthday she always felt that love tenfold.

This one didn't feel different to her, even if Trixie insisted it was. But she loved so much the smile on her friend's face as she planned and plotted and made pink ornaments to fill the backyard with that she just played along. She even agreed on wearing the dress Trixie chose for her, even though she still thought it was too tight and clingy. She hadn't get her to wear high heels though, so Trixie had just sighed and agreed to Stephanie wearing some kind of platform sneakers she wasn't too happy about, but hey!, it was Stephanie's sweet sixteen, wasn't it?

When the day came, it felt like a dream.

Trixie and the others had managed to turn her little academy on the backyard on a ballroom. A pink ballroom, full of light and balloons and sparkly little things that shone prettily as she walked, arm in arm with her uncle, to the dance floor. The kids, all of them, friends and students alike, were dressed up formally -girls in party dresses and boys in tuxedos-, even the little ones; and it was just out of respect for Trixie making her up for at least an hour that she could hold her tears. The smile on her face outshone all the ornaments in the ballroom.

Ziggy, the designated DJ that year, gave her a wink and pressed a button, and a slow waltz began playing. Her uncle offered her his hand and they began dancing, the sound of the music muffled at first by the clapping of all the guests.

It was awkward and it was somehow right; and his uncle kept staring at his feet to try not to step on hers. She laughed brightly and couldn't stop smiling all along. When the song ended and the guests burst into applauses again, she giggled and pecked him softly on the cheek.

"You did great, uncle Milford!" Stephanie exclaimed.

"My, my… That was the first public waltz I've ever danced in my whole life", the Mayor responded, smiling warmly. "I hope it wasn't too bad… Miss Busybody taught me how to dance", he supplied without losing his smile.

Stephanie just held him tight, because she was happy and because that explained many, many things.

Pixel approached her to ask her to dance and she agreed happily. Ziggy put on a cheerful and bouncy song that almost tasted of sugar cotton and Stephanie loved it right away, even though she had never heard it before.

She danced away for a really long while; first with Pixel, then with one of her students -a boy named Joan that shyly asked her to dance and blushed profusely when she said yes-, then with a couple of girls that also attended to her dance lessons; next was Ziggy –who left a cute little girl named Elisa in charge of the music mixing while he danced with the birthday girl-, and she finally ended up dancing with Trixie.

It was more laughing and turning around than dancing, but it was alright.

She didn't notice his arrival right away, though she had been secretly waiting for him, as she always was. She just saw Trixie giggling her way out of the dance floor and into the DJ stall, mischievously pushing Ziggy and her cute friend –that just happened to be talking quietly to each other right then- out of the way.

Stephanie felt him behind her before he even came close to her. Her heart raced and her cheeks caught fire, and she was glad that she could pin all her reactions to the silly dancing she had been engaged on.

She turned around and saw Sportacus smiling.

She read the "Happy Birthday" on his lips rather than heard it, the blood rushing in her ears making her deaf to all except the wild rhythm of her heart. She beamed, bright, pink, happy, the light reached her eyes, lit up her face, made her shine almost physically.

Every time she saw him was like a gift, a wonderful surprise.

It wasn't until she felt the need to hug him that she noticed the velvet pillow he was balancing on his right hand. It was purple and it had silvery ornaments lining it; it looked very fluffy and she felt the urge to reach her hand and touch the soft looking material. Over the pillow rested a delicate and shiny tiara, made of shimmering beads that silhouetted a ballerina, with short hair.

Everything became kind of blurry for her from that point on.

Somehow her uncle managed to pop up beside her and take the tiara form its pillow, motioning for her to bend down a little. She did it, though she never remembered her brain giving her body the order to do so, and her uncle placed the little crown on her head.

She heard a distant slow song playing, felt her uncle hug her, then Ziggy, then Pixel, then Trixie, who had hurried up to her side again.

"Happy birthday", they said one after the other, their voices cascading into her a little lagged and blurred in, and the happy tears she could not longer fight back wetting her hugs and her laughter. The love of their friends and family, and the sheer reality –the _weight-_ of the rite of passage were almost too much for her.

The blur ended when she felt a pair of familiar strong arms embracing her and time froze up, folded itself over and began ticking painfully slow and not really slow enough. Her own arms tightened around him almost by reflex and she buried her head in her chest as much as her tiara let her.

"You're late", she said playfully, happiness painting her words pink.

"I'm sorry... it's just that, sometimes, owning a flying spaceship has its disadvantages", Sportacus answered in defense. He took a step back and offered her his hand. "Would you care to dance with this insignificant errand boy, pretty young lady?"

Stephanie giggled and improvised a clumsy curtsy then took his hand. The slow song hadn't ended and, as she looked at a grinning Trixie out of the corner of her eye, she just knew other slow song would follow.

Sportacus placed a hand on her waist and held one of her hands softly with the other, while Stephanie rested her free one at his shoulder. They began waltzing, though the song wasn't really a waltz, and she had time to finally take him in without interruptions.

She marveled at his hair, down for the first time in front of her; it fell to his ears in curls that seemed perpetually wet. He looked absolutely stunning on a tuxedo and a blue bowtie that matched his eyes and made them shine in a way that made Stephanie melt and feel weak on her knees, to the point that the only thing that held her standing was him and his arms. And he held her, firmly and gently, the way in which precious things are held, as they swirled on the dance floor, as he took her by the waist and lifted her and kept swirling and spinning, her heart so full of joy she wished the music would never end, that she would never have to stop dancing and dancing and dancing… with him.

But the song did end. She barely registered cheering and applauses around them, but her eyes were fixed on Sportacus as he stepped back, bowed deeply and looked straight at her eyes before taking her hand and lifting it slowly to his lips.

It was the first time he had kissed her, his lips never been anywhere near any part of her in all the time they'd known each other, and she felt herself burn, to the tips of her ears, in fire, love and things she didn't even want to think about. She somehow managed to transmute the scream of joy that threatened to leave her throat into a chuckle, managed to curtsy again, and managed to hug Sportacus in what she hopped was a friendly manner before excusing herself and rushing to the bathroom; running away.

Of course, Trixie was already there.

"What on Earth do you think you're doing here, Pinky!?" she said, looking exasperated, but Stephanie knew better. Her friend's entire cosmetic arsenal was on display over the vanity by the sink. She was expecting her, the little brat. "Sit!" Trixie ordered then, and Stephanie couldn't help but obey, even though she did feel like a trained pet by doing so.

Trixie worked deftly on her, removing the running mascara and fixing her make up.

"You knew I was going to run away", Stephanie said in a low voice. It wasn't a question.

"It was a possibility", retorted Trixie, biting her lip in concentration. "Look up", she asked, reaching out for the foundation and applying it with a soft sponge under Stephanie's eyes, then stepping back a little and looking at her like an artist looking at her work in progress. "But it's ok", she continued, tearing her eyes away for her to look for the light pink blush. "We are all entitled to flee and regroup after shocking situations…. and oh my! What a *shocking* situation we did have there!"

Stephanie could only utter some mortified grumbles, since Trixie had given herself to the task of refreshing her friend's lip gloss, taking her face with one hand and pressing her cheeks together.

"Girl", she began and sighed dramatically before signaling for Stephanie to press her lips together to even out the product on them. "You've been in love with the guy since before you even *knew* what falling in love was!"

"I'm not…."

"Please, Pinky", Trixie rolled her eyes at her. "Don't even bother. You'd be insulting my very **eyesight** by denying it", she finished her work by applying some sparkling powder. She stepped back once again and beheld her master piece. "Perfect", she stated before grabbing Stephanie by the shoulders and turning her around.

From the mirror a tall girl stared at her, wrapped in a simple pink satin dress that swayed and twirled at her slightest movement, playing with the light and the forms that insinuated themselves in her body, but not quite so; a beautiful girl just in the brink between childhood and adulthood.

She sighed. _"Still too young…still a girl."_

She didn't have much time to mull over her thoughts though, as Trixie steered her out of the bathroom and into the ballroom again, pushing her in Sportacus general direction after whispering "Go get him", in her ear.

He was dancing a rock-and-roll with Miss Busybody when she saw him, a gentle, patient, smile splashed across his face as he tried to guide her with little success. Her hairdo was a little more important for her than the dance.

She stood there; staring adoringly till the song ended and then she clapped her hands, startling both dancers.

"Thank goodness you are here, Stephanie dear", gasped Miss Busybody almost out of breath. "In my more youthful days I could have danced five, even six rock-and-rolls in a row… but now I just need a break. *And* some juice", she declared and began looking for someone. "Milford!" she shrilled when she found him, bouncing her way to the Mayor, who just stood there looking pleased and waited for her.

Sportacus watched Stephanie staring at her uncle and Miss Busybody and his heart twitched. He indulged for a millisecond on the bittersweet feeling that Stephanie stirred in him, the love and the pain. She was such a luminous being; he had had no choice but to get caught in her light, the love that flowed from her to everything that surrounded her –her friends, her uncle, her dancing… even her enemies, if you could call Robbie that way.

He sighed and she looked quizzically at him.

"What?" she asked, unable to read the expression on his face.

"Nothing," he said, breaking into smile again.

She would never be his. Ever. That certainty pained him like no other thing had in all his life, but it was worth it. She deserved a normal life and she deserved falling in love with a nice kid of her age.

But...

"May I have this dance?" asked Stephanie, gratefully interrupting his train of thought; her polite bow made somewhat informal by her merry giggling. The elegant clothes felt almost like a costume to her, so she was playing along with glee.

Sportacus took the hand that her friend offered him and proceeded to swirl her and spin her around the dance floor to the beat of yet another rock-and-roll, their movements in perfect harmony, as usual.

She could live like this, she thought. She could make it. As long as he was by her side she could smile brightly and shine, even though she was still a kid in his eyes.

She could handle it.

He could handle it.

For now.


	7. Crush

_**Note**__: This one was so difficult to get right… and I don't think I managed to do it. Sorry. Thank you very *veeery* much for reviewing. It really makes my day. And special thanks to Vbabe11_, _who inadvertenly drove me out of a dead end *grin*._

_**Disclaimers**__: See prologue._

_

* * *

Six__: Crush_

She was tired.

She had no idea how things had reached this point and she didn't even want to think about it most of the time. But at night, all of her shields went down and her feelings overwhelmed her, making it hard for her to sleep.

It was like trying to stop a landslide; every minute beside him was a struggle, and she would have felt disappointed for her lack of strength in fulfilling her self-promise had she not been too busy trying to keep her heart in check every time he cartwheeled past her, greeted her or even looked at her.

It just wasn't easy anymore, and she wondered if it had ever been.

She needed to be near him, to see him smile, to catch light traces of his smell on the air. She needed to hear his voice, feel his eyes on hers, be with him, even if she just managed to do so a little every day.

And at night, dreams of him plagued her mind. His touch, his lips on hers, the heat that made her wake up half afraid and half frustrated…

Sometimes she felt it was too much. Sometimes she felt she would explode from all the feelings bubbling up inside her. And she had absolutely no idea how things had gotten to this point.

She punched her mattress in frustration as her pillow muffled her half-groans, low, so she didn't wake her uncle up.

She needed some other thing to think about, so she decided to focus on her academy and the improvements the kids were achieving.

Finally able to calm herself a little she felt sleep slowly creeping in on her, she prayed for a dreamless one.

***

Paul was one of her most hard working students. He was 15 and he dreamt of becoming a professional modern dancer, so he had began attending Stephanie's little academy since its beginning, little more than a year ago, and always stayed 20 minutes after everyone had gone home, practicing alone with her.

He was also a shy young man, it had been really hard for Stephanie to make him stop calling her Miss Stephanie.

"Stephanie, you look pale," he said.

"It's nothing, Paul. I'm just a little tired," she smiled at him and took the bottle of water that he was handing her.

"Stephanie…," he began, and the strain on his voice made her look at him with concern. He was blushing furiously and clenching his fists, not looking at her at all. "Well… I… have a brother… an older brother… really he is just 18, but he thinks he is some great thing and he is just… stupid and…"

Stephanie relaxed a little. "You should appreciate your brother… I would like very much having an older brother..."

"No, if he was Luke, you wouldn't…. Anyway," Paul took a deep breath and looked at her with something that only could be described as desperation. "He said he would begin picking me up after classes. I told him I'm old enough and that I've been going everywhere in town perfectly by my own since I was like... six?" He shook his head, obviously upset. "But he didn't pay any attention. He's going to come here today… I thought I should tell you... I think he has a crush on you," he blurted out, rolling his eyes. "So… please, just ignore him and he will go away," Paul finally ended and breathed, looking by all means mortified.

Stephanie, on the other hand, was puzzled. She didn't even remember this Luke, even though it was a really small town. How could it be that someone whom she hadn't even talked to was interested in her?

"I don't think I have met your brother. Paul, are-"

"Then let me introduce myself," said suddenly an unknown voice from behind her, startling her. "My name is Luke, I'm Paul's brother. Nice to meet you," a tall, blondish teen, with long hair gathered in a low ponytail offered his hand to her in greeting. She shook it on reflex and he smiled.

"I'm Stephanie, Paul's-"

"I know," he interrupted her again. "Paul hasn't stopped talking about you since I came back," he said ruffling his embarrassed younger brother's hair. "So I felt compelled to meet his wonderful dance teacher."

"Why don't you tell her that you really-"

"Go gather your stuff, shrimp," he ordered breaking for a second his cool façade. "Mom's waiting for us at home."

Paul mumbled something under his breath and went to change.

"You shouldn't treat him like that," Stephanie said, upset, once her student couldn't hear her. "He's your brother, and family is the most important thing we have."

"Sorry."

"It isn't me you should be apologizing to."

"Yes, it is. I made you uncomfortable, I'm sorry. I often have problems relating to my brother, maybe because I don't quite know how to express my affection towards him. I am trying to work on it, but sometimes I just… slip. I'm sorry."

Stephanie didn't know how to react. She felt somehow awkward at him opening up so much when they had just met.

"I made you uncomfortable again. I'm sorry," he said, but she knew he didn't. "Next week I'll bring you something to express my apology."

Paul emerged then and grabbed his brother's arm, dragging him with him and hastily waving goodbye at Stephanie, who just stood there, confused and frustrated.

***

The week went by and on Saturday she was practicing some difficult steps with Paul. They had been preparing a choreography for an audition at an arts academy Paul had applied to and both were working really hard at it.

She was flushed and disheveled and grinning with the satisfaction of long hours of work. The section of the choreography they were working on that day was especially difficult and she was particularly happy and proud of him being able to go through it three times in a row without flaws.

"Ok," she said, panting slightly. "I think we got that one down. I want to watch you do it all over once, from the top."

Paul nodded and tried to catch his breath while she walked to the radio to play the song again.

When it started, he began dancing and she watched, her critic eye finding only small details. She smiled and rested her back against the wall, relaxing herself and actually enjoying her student's performance.

"You really are an amazing teacher," a voice she recognized as Luke's said beside her, making a cold run down her spine.

"He is a very talented young man," she said without looking at him, her eyes intently fixed on Paul, who had reached the part of the choreography they had been practicing that day and was executing it superbly.

Stephanie clapped, forgetting about Luke.

"That was great!" she congratulated him. "I think we need to work some of the movements at the beginning, but overall it was great!"

"Thank you, Stephanie, I-," he began, but then spotted his older brother beside her "You're here. Again."

"Yup."

"Ok, I'll go change," said Paul, looking unpleased and just short of rolling his eyes.

"I just don't get you. Neither of you," sighed Stephanie, seconds away from exasperation.

"You clearly don't have siblings, that's why you don't understand," replied Luke, poking her shoulder.

"No, I don't. I only have my uncle, he is the only family I have left and I cherish him above everything else, because family is *important*!"

"Ow wow ow," Luke raised his hands in a defeat gesture and chuckled. "I seem to have a gift for upsetting you."

"Yes, you do!," she blurted out, fumingly. Then, realizing what she had said, she covered her mouth with her hands and blushed. "I'm so sorry," she apologized, the sound somewhat muffled by her own hands.

"Don't worry," he patted her head and she could barely restrain herself from stepping back. He noted it and stopped doing it immediately, almost serious for the first time. "Like I said, a gift for upsetting you," a little smile insinuated itself on his lips, a heartfelt one. He looked intently into her eyes for a couple of seconds and she felt that shiver in her spine again, cold and disturbing. Suddenly he broke his stare and took off a backpack she hadn't seen, kneeling down to search for something inside. "Here," was the only warning he gave before throwing something at her.

She caught the object easily and looked at it. It was an apple, or at least it had the shape of one.

"Oh… it's…."

"An apple."

"Pink?"

He smiled almost sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah," he began. "My grand dad was a patissier… but, since granny had diabetes, he worked all of his live to make non-sugary sweets as tasty as the sugared ones. I copied some of his recipes years ago, before he passed away. I enjoyed making cakes and all kind of things with him," he looked lost in memories for a second, with a dreamy stare in his eyes, and Stephanie tough she would like him so much better if he was like that all the time. But it was just a fleeting moment and afterwards he resumed his cool attitude, to Stephanie's dismay. "This, I… painted the apple with sugar-free pink frosting," he explained. "Since my brother told me that you, kind of… liked the color pink and… "sports candies"… or something like that…" he drew the quotation marks in the air with his index and middle fingers.

Stephanie smiled.

"Thank you; it's a very nice gesture," the smile was genuine but somehow didn't light up her eyes. Luke didn't seem to notice. "Although I feel kind of sad to eat it… it's so cute I just-"

"Stephanie," Luke suddenly cut her out. "Would you go out with me? Sometime? To the movies or… skating… or… whatever..."

"I… well…"

Paul choose that moment to appear. He looked at Stephanie's dumbfounded expression, then at the expectant, somewhat smug, look on his brother's face and let out an exasperated moan.

"Luke, let's go?"

"I'll pick you up next Saturday, at six," Luke said while being dragged away again.

"But…," began Stephanie, but never got to finish the sentence, since Luke interrupted her again.

"At six. See ya!"

She could only blink and gape as they half-ran away, leaving her frozen in the middle of her backyard.

***

She stared at the blank page of her diary and grimaced.

Ever since she could remember she had written on her diary every day, about her day, her friends, everything she experienced so she could remember it clearly afterwards. If she didn't feel like writing she would draw. Sometimes she did both.

Every day.

Now she found herself at loss, of the intention and will of writing or drawing or anything. She had even came outside and sat under her favorite tree, hoping that some kind of inspiration reached her, but she had been staring at the same blank page for over 20 minutes and nothing had happened.­

She felt nothing but a strange kind of nervousness, one that made her feel almost ill. Her stomach ached and every time she thought about the quickly approaching Saturday, her palms sweated.

Luke frustrated her. A lot. Even though she had really seen him only twice. His personality was so strong it made her feel almost cornered, unable to put boundaries or defend her personal space or anything hers. Not even Robbie Rotten (long ago busy annoying younger children in town) had made her feel so annoyed in so little time.

But she had always believed in taking other people's feelings into account and respecting them, even if she didn't quite know how to deal with unwanted advances. To ignore him or do anything she knew may hurt him was against everything she believed in. On the other hand, Luke didn't make it precisely easy to have any kind of conversation with him; always interrupting her and imposing himself.

She sighed, abruptly closing her diary over her lap and resting her forehead over it. She would have started banging her head against it if she hadn't became aware of *him* approaching. She had somehow became attuned to his movements, even his slow, delicate ones. She could *feel* him when he was near.

'_How can I be your friend if I feel this way every time you are near me?'_

"Stephanie… are you alright?" he asked and sat beside her, posing a hand gently over her shoulder. It burnt, and it made her want to hug him, and it made her want to scream, and it made her want to run; all at once. She felt her stomach knotting itself in all the right ways and fire igniting her face in all the inconvenient ways, and she felt ice cold pain, cutting her soul in all the wrong ways.

She tried to move, to breathe, to talk. She failed. Her heart was beating so fast not even a really intense soccer match would justify it. She sighed again.

"Starjna?" He insisted, mild alarm tinting his voice.

Gathering all the strength she had left she raised her head and flashed him what she hopped was a smile.

"Yes, Sportacus, I'm fine," she answered, steadying her expression.

"You look tired," he said softly, half turning her to him with one hand while the other one lightly caressed her cheek. She leaned into the caress, happily enjoying this rare stolen moment.

Oh, she was tired. And she had been so tense that now, suddenly relaxed by his sheer presence, her body felt heavy and limp. Her shoulders hunched forward and she may have fallen to her side, but he was there. In a blink he was holding her against him, the hand previously posed in her shoulder now on her hair, his other arm loosely circling her waist.

"I am exhausted," she finally murmured against his chest. Her body seemed to act on its own volition when she inched herself towards him, drowning on his warmth.

He rested his chin on the top of her head and pulled her closer, closing his eyes. He was tired too.

After minutes that felt too short, he noticed her breath slowing down, as if she was falling asleep. The sun has already set and the temperature was dropping fast. Their stolen time had to end.

"Eh?" Was all that Stephanie could mumble. She had been almost falling asleep, content and warm in Sportacus arms when suddenly she had stopped feeling the ground below her.

"I'm taking you home," Sportacus answered her unspoken question.

She probably would have wanted to protest, to say that she could perfectly walk on her own, but this felt too good. Being carried in Sportacus' strong arms through the night to the safety of her home was a dream. She felt safe and she felt vulnerable, and this felt just.. right. She lifted her arms and held onto his neck, burying her face in his chest.

He smelt of sandal, of soap, of salt, and of something spicy and secret that made all her being tingle with something she hadn't ever felt before, something powerful, deep; something that would have scared her if she wasn't with him. But this felt right. It felt right to surrender herself, just for a moment, to burn inside and to ache this way, to give herself a truce even if it was only because she couldn't have acted on it even if she had wanted to.

'_So tired…'_

She finally gave up and let go of Sportacus' neck, folding her arms over her chest instead and resting all her weight on the strong arms that held her. She knew he could take it and she knew he would never let her fall.

"Oh my! Stephanie!!" The worried voice of her uncle reached her from afar, like she was hearing it through a wall of jelly. She tried to open her eyes but sleep pulled her down and made it impossible.

"Good evening, Mayor Meanswell," whispered Sportacus as greeting. She could hear his voice reverberating in his chest when he spoke, a solid but thin beacon to the reality as she felt herself go deeper and deeper into slumber. She felt so safe and relaxed not even the light and noise could wake her completely up.

"Something happened? Is Stephanie alright?" Her uncle was whispering now too.

"I found her at the park, she had been writing on her diary but I guess she was too tired and almost fell asleep. That's why I brought her home."

"Oh… Well… Fine…" the Mayor stuttered with relief, "I almost had a heart attack. I thought she'd had an accident."

"You don't have anything to worry about."

"Oh… Thank you Sportacus. For bringing her back," the Mayor said, then looked thoughtful for a second. "Do you think you could take her upstairs to her room, though? I don't think I can do it myself," he looked embarrassed for a little while.

"Of course, Mayor."

Stephanie kind of heard him going up the stairs and opening her bedroom door. She slightly felt him taking off her sneakers and arranging the bed covers around her, tucking her up. Then, she distinctly felt his hand gently caressing her hair before he bent down and kissed her forehead. She would have melt, but unconsciousness quickly claimed her and she fell asleep, taking Sportacus' kiss with her to the land of dreams.

"Goodnight, Starjna," he softly whispered before leaving.


End file.
